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Monster Cable

#41
This surprised me but the piece of my gear which has lasted the longest is a Monster cable - 25 years of use. About 10 years in I replaced one connector. It's flexible and totally reliable and looks good with all my basses. Perhaps today's products aren't made as well or there's a drop in quality control but I swear by mine. I don't think I'll ever need to toss it out or replace it.
 
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#42
Never liked Noel Lee's business model. He is and has been, however, a marketing genius. I have to give him that. Monster makes and sells pretty, capable LOOKING cables and other gear through what are basically, dime store outlets where people who don't know any better tend to shop. I've bought this stuff intermittently for over 40 years, usually when I was desperate and needed something specific and in stock RIGHT NOW for a video hookup or so.

It is just middle of the road gear, grossly mass produced, with high end prices. Better stuff is available for way cheaper even at Monoprice. I'd really
to just keep some Neutrik or Ampenol connectors around (and I do) to use with Canare or other studio grade cable on a roll, so I save poo tons of money and have exactly the lengths I need. Once you learn how to solder (see YouTube) you'll be a lot happier. I have been involved in audio for 50 years and I happen to believe the voodoo and snake oil claimed for SOME higher end cables. (That does not include Monster). However you feel about that, I just don't hear the benefit in the higher priced pro cable market, although it is almost always better made than the cheap stuff. However, when it comes to Monster, for God's sake, save your money!
 
#44
I was a repair tech a a music store that sold Monster Cables, and several other brands. I repaired a lot of cables, but repaired more Monster Cables than all other brands we sold combined, and they weren't our biggest sellers. Give me a cable without a warranty that lasts (with Switchcraft, Neutrik or Rean plugs) instead of a full warranty cable that breaks down.
 
#45
Annoying that GC and Monster have stopped doing exchanges. Used to be you'd walk into GC with a busted Monster (even with no receipt) and get a new one. That, and a pretty good discount, was enough to make me buy a 3 Monster Bass Cables when I was working at GC almost 20 years ago. I've still got 3 Monster cables and have done 2-3 exchanges (including a my-fault broken jack) at this point, so I've definitely got my money's worth.

As for Monster Cable quality, they've been tough through 2 decades and literally hundreds of gigs. I doubt there is any special aural magic in them though they were bigger gauge than the other in-store GC cable options at the time, and comparing online options wasn't as big a thing in the early 00's.

All this to say, I'm happy with the ones I have, but I probably wouldn't buy more. I'm more confident in my soldering abilities now than I was then, so I forsee a good bit of cable repair and construction in my future.
 
#46
I thought Monster had been shunned for over the past decade for having the worst sounding cables with the highest prices. I never much believed in the "sound quality" aspect of cables, but accidentally ran into a situation where we ended up comparing Monster to all every other major brand. Nobody could tell any difference unless a Monster was plugged in. It was the only cable that nobody liked. (yes it was a blind test). I also had one of their big fancy power conditioners. It just stopped working after a few months.
 
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#49
Years ago, when I was playing 3-5 shows a week, I was going through MC bass cables like a madman.
The guys at GC on Halsted all knew me and I would just walk in and trade them out.
Probably went through 15 of them. Lol
 
#52
The company I used to work for at one time contacted Monster about using their cables with our products - a bundling/OEM thing. It wasn't my idea, but I was in the initial (and only) meeting with them. I was impressed with how straight a face their folks kept while sticking to their "company line" about their cables. Of course, that's the only thing that ever impressed me about them.
 
#53
i roll my own. i like the neutrik, "silent," right-angle connectors on the instrument end:

neutrik silent plug.jpg


i like to make my own in order to have custom lengths. still, a DIY with good connectors/cable can easily cost $25-$30!
 
#54
Funny story - I had the same exact thing happen where I was talked into a monster cable by a GC rep in 2014. In october 2020, I tried to replace the non-functional cable at guitar center and heard the story about how they don't cover monster warranties any more. I raised a stink but got nowhere. GC told me to contact monster. The funny thing though, was that when I asked nicely for the receipt from GC from 2014, of course they still had it in their system. SMH.

With the receipt in hand, I complained to Guitar Center Corporate and after a few back and forth volleys they gave me a store credit. It took several curt emails to get there, but in the end they made it right.

Anyway, fast forward to 6 days ago... I finally got my email response from monster. No joke - October 12 2020 complaint to monster, February 12 2022 response from monster. Tell me you don't deserve to be a company without telling me you don't deserve to be a company...
 
#55
scowboy said:
Canare GS-6 cable with Neutrik connectors.
Click to expand...

I use GS-6 with the Canare F15 connectors. How good is it? Well, I bought my first Canare cables in 1987, 35 years ago, and both of them still work after hundreds of gigs, no noise, no static, nothing but awesome signal. I made my most recent batch this year in my fourth round of cable making; first was bass, second was bass, third was speaker and this last mic cables. Not a one has ever failed, not the ones I kept or the ones I've made for bandmates.

As for the thread topic, I used to work right next door to them in South San Francisco and knew a few of the employees, and I do not own any Monster cable. That's all I'm gonna say.
 
#56
Discount Bassy said:
I'm a fan of making custom cables. Redco.com offers professional level quality connectors and by the foot cables at reasonable prices for what they are.
Click to expand...

I like Redco for component buys too. Also their custom cable service is pretty reasonable. You can have them make up any cable you want from the components they sell. And the sell pretty much all of the name brand cable and connectors. A good option for custom cables if you don't want to make your own.

Redco Audio - Audio/Video Supplies and Accessories, Custom Cables and Panels, and more
 
#58
As an example. Here's a cable I just spec'd for the helluvit to show an example of the pricing. 15' Mogami cable with one right angle and one straight Neutrik black/gold connectors. $31.79 plus shipping which estimates at about $5.00 via USPS.

That same cable retail packaged would be what? At least double that and I've seen them for close to $100.

Link to this specific cable:
Redco Audio - Audio/Video Supplies and Accessories, Custom Cables and Panels, and more


~I have no affiliation with Redco Audio other than being a customer.~
 
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#59
I agree with the last couple of posts. Redco is a good place to buy materials or already made cables. Develop an eye for real connectors (Switchcraft, Neutrik, Rean) versus Chinese knockoffs. Buy the cables with the real parts. Often music stores will buy scores of cheap Chinese crap and give the customer a lifetime guarantee, ie just bring it back, we'll give you another. I had a band leader do this. Every few gigs some mic cord would crap out in the middle of a show.
 
#60
Gregory H said:
The funny thing though, was that when I asked nicely for the receipt from GC from 2014, of course they still had it in their system. SMH.
Click to expand...
This is worth remembering. If you ever bought something from GC (probably going back decades) it is still in their system. They are still operating on their pre-windows "green screen" POS system from the 80's(?) albeit running inside windows machines. If it was purchased in the last 30+ years, it should be in there. As long as you can remember your name, and possibly your address from the time you can probably get them to print off a receipt.
 
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